Halloween Fun Facts and Trivia

Halloween is now the second most celebrated holiday after Christmas. So here are some fun facts and trivia to add to the holiday fun!

· Halloween candy sales in the US alone average US $2 billion annually. Snickers top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters.

· Orange and black are the colours associated with Halloween. Orange because of the association with the Fall/Autumn harvest; black because of the association with darkness and death.

· Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green.

· Tootise Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.

· The fear of Halloween is known as Samhainophobia.

· The film “Halloween” was made in just 21 days on a very limited budget in 1978. The heroine, Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, was named after writer and director John Carpenter’s first girlfriend.

· Although the film is set in Illinois, all the vehicles in the movie have California plates.

· Scottish girls believed they could see images of their future husband if they hung wet sheets in front of the fire on Halloween.

· If you see a spider on Halloween, it is sign that a loved one is watching over you.

· Vampire bats do exist but not in Transylvania. They live in Central and South America and feed on the blood of cattle, horses and birds.

· Bran Castle in Romania has traditionally been regarded as the home of the title character in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. However, there is no evidence that the Irish novelist had ever heard of the castle; the location he had in mind for Dracula’s castle was an empty mountain top.

· Hairy palms, tattoos, a unibrow and a long middle finger are classic signs of a werewolf (do you need to check the mirror for signs?!).

· Stephen Clarke holds the record for the world’s fastest pumpkin carving time – 24.03 seconds. The rules of the competition state that the pumpkin must weigh less than 24 pounds and be carved in a traditional way with at least eyes, nose, ears and a mouth.

· According to legend, if a person wears their clothes inside out and walks backwards on Halloween, they will see a witch at midnight.